


Restless Nights

by Nainers



Series: Restless Nights [1]
Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Nightmares, One Shot Collection, they've all been through a lot okay??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-10-25 19:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17731607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nainers/pseuds/Nainers
Summary: Their line of business was risky. Everyone knew it.That being said, nightmares were to be expected.





	1. Carmen and Zack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in the dead of night, so forgive any mistakes,,, 
> 
> I already got most of the next chapter done so that'll probably come out soon,  
> anyways,,, Hope you like it!

Traveling as a trio often made it hard for everyone to get their own space. Sure, Player spoiled them and they got penthouse hotel rooms where they could, but more often than not hotels didn't have penthouses. Let alone penthouses with three rooms. Meaning someone (namely Zack) ended up sleeping on a sofa or floor. Zack didn’t really have a problem with it if he was honest, it meant that Carmen and Ivy would probably get a better nights sleep .

‘ _And let's be honest “_ he thought _“they need it more than me’_

Their line of business was risky. Everyone knew it, and after Player — who was way off in the land of moose, syrup and ice hockey — Zack supposed he was the one who entered the line of fire least . The getaway driver. All he needed to do was be ready to escape, so not much danger there. Even when he did get involved, Ivy and Carmen were usually the ones to calling the shots, so he never really got the life-or-death jobs.

That being said, nightmares were to be expected; Zack was always a surprisingly light sleeper.

The first night they all shared a room together was only a month after they began traveling together. It wasn’t a particularly big room. They needed a quick rest stop in India. There was only one queen sized bed, which the girls both snagged before Zack could get a word in. So, begrudgingly, he gathered any spare blankets and pillows and settled on the floor.

Later that night a strangled cry snapped Zack out of his sleep. His immediate reaction was to make sure Ivy was alright, but then he realised that cry wasn’t Ivy’s… so that meant… Carmen!

He whipped around to check on her, only to discover she wasn’t in the bed anymore. ‘Damn she’s stealthy’ , he thought, as he creeped to the bathroom.  
He honestly didn’t know what he expected. Carmen curled up tight, and trying in vain to silence the sobs racking her body DEFINITELY wasn’t it. Upon realising that she wasn’t alone Carmen froze, and stared at Zack with weary and tired eyes. For a moment Zack was motionless. Thousands of possible reactions sped through his mind, before finally it finally screeched to a halt at a single thought: COMFORT HER .  
He inched closer to Carmen, hoping that comforting Carmen would be at least similar to comforting Ivy after a nightmare. He didn’t know Carmen's whole backstory, but he did know that she could probably kill him in a second, or at least cause some serious bodily harm.

“Wanna talk about it?” He asked softly as he sat next to her in the small and cramped bathroom. Carmen herself, hadn’t moved since Zacks appearance, only her shaky breaths and tracking eyes gave away the fact she wasn’t a statue.

“I don’t really know how to go about comforting you if I'm being honest. Ivy? I know how to comfort her. I mean it’s a given that I know, she’s my sister. You, on the other hand… I… um… I’m not going to lie, you scare me. Like you’re so mysterious and badass, I guess kind of like Ivy — minus the mystery thing, cause I know her, she's my sister. You can’t tell her that I told you I think she’s badass though, sh-” He paused after he heard a small snort from Carmen.

“I’m rambling aren’t I? Is it at least helping?” He asked turning to look at her. Carmen eyed him for a second, before slowly nodding with a small smile.

“Oh thank God” He exhaled “But for realsies, if you need to let it all out I’m here for you. Ivy too, you know, when she’s not sleeping and all. So do you want to talk about it?”

Carmen considered the offer before hoarsely replying “Not tonight…”

A moment of silence passed.

“How about a hug? They always seem to help Ivy…” Zack hesitantly prompted.

Carmen blinked, clearly taken aback by Zack’s openness. It was practically unheard for her. VILE agents were meant to be strong, and the only people she ever hugged were Coach Brunt and Gray, and that was when she was a kid. That was when she was vulnerable. If she accepted the hug it could appear WEAK. She couldn’t possi-

“You don’t have to!” Zack quickly interjected, raising his hands with wide eyes “To each their own right?” He didn’t think the simple gesture would have such a reaction. It was kind of the exact opposite reaction that he wanted. A sudden yawn interrupted anything he planned on saying. He tried in vain to stifle it, but it was easy for Carmen to tell that he was beyond tired. She felt bad for waking him, even if it wasn’t intentional.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep?” She asked. Zacked looked at her surprised.

“I- uh- it’s fine, I can stay up until you’re alright… Aren’t you tired at all?”

“Not really”

“Oh…” Zack fidgeted for a second. “We have a long day tomorrow don’t we? You know, traveling and all,” he continued.

Carmen supposed that was true. They had to be out of their room by nine, which was to be followed by a gruelling two hour ride to the New Delhi airport. Which then left them with a three hour flight to Uzbekistan, where their next caper was waiting. So Zack wasn’t wrong in his statement. In all honesty the thought of getting back to sleep hadn’t even crossed her mind.

Usually when this happened she would end up sitting alone in the dark, until the morning came. Then proceeded to deal with the grogginess throughout the day until the could finally sleep. It generally meant that she got a few more scratches or bruises than normal, but that’s how things were. She had to admit that Zacks' presence was a welcome change. It got her out of her own head, and for such a boisterous guy, he was surprisingly comforting.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” She replied.

Next to her, Zack tiredly stretched before standing up. He offered Carmen a hand.

“Shall we?” he asked.

Wordlessly, Carmen took his hand and hoisted herself up. They silently they made their back to the bed (and bundle of sheets). Zack stumbling several times despite them not going far. Ivy had somehow managed to sleep through it.

“Night Carm, hope you sleep better this time,” Zack said as he settled back himself back into the makeshift bed.

Carmen hesitated as she got back into the bed.

“Zack?” She whispered

“...Yeah,” came a delayed muffled response.

“Thank you… Really.” She really did mean it. It had been so long since someone had comforted her like that. Player always did his best, but timezones made it difficult.

“Any time….”

As she pulled the blanket closer to herself Carmen smiled and thought to herself  
_‘Maybe letting Ivy and Zack join me was for the best…”_ before drifting to sleep.

 


	2. Ivy and Zack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in two days?? whaaat???  
> I haven't been able to sleep,,,,
> 
> This takes place after episode 6 (the Australian one)
> 
> anyways enjoy!
> 
> (Also I love getting comments/ reviews)

Ivy was no stranger to nightmares. Even prior to meeting Carmen they always seemed to haunt her dreams. Zack and Ivy didn’t often think about it, let alone talk about it, but their

childhood was not exactly a walk in the park. Though she supposed that was kind of obvious. Given the fact that the two teens joined Carmen without a moment's hesitation.

Sometimes she would dream of what would have happened if they hadn’t runaway from home. Other times she would dream of dying, or those around her disappearing unable to do

anything about it.

After their caper in Australia, Ivy still found herself reeling from her most recent near death experience. Nonetheless the three hour flight back from Uluru to Sydney wiped any energy she

had. That and the Sydney night sky only served to make it easier for her to flop into her hotel bed and pass out.

 

* * *

 

 

When the world swirled into view Ivy found herself gripping the edge of the rocket once more. The timer was ticking and Carmen was nowhere in sight.

  
5

  
“No, no, no!” She muttered.

4

  
Carmen was supposed to have shown up by now.

  
2

  
She couldn’t hold on.

  
1

  
The terrifying feeling of falling was overpowering and she opened her mouth to scream, when she felt a jerk. She was back in Indonesia, clinging to the back of a truck.   She could see the trees whipping past her, and she felt her grip slipping as the door swayed.

 

“Zack!” She shouted“Help me over here!”

 

“Ivy!” She heard him cry.

Then the door disappeared. She was falling again, and this time a strangled scream escaped her. Zack wasn’t gonna make it. 

 

“Oh God I’m gonna die”

 

“Ivy!” It was Zack again, but somehow this was different. Her world shook

  
“ Ivy c’mon wake up! It’s just a dream!”

She jerked awake, her head making contact with something hard. 

She heard a thud and a sharp ‘omf’ coming from the floor by her bed.

Felt the tears on her face.

Saw the Sydney opera house from window, and Zack sitting up while rubbing his nose.

She wasn’t dead.

 

“I’m not dead.” Ivy whispered hoarsely.

 

“Wanna talk about it?” Zack asked, but he sounded far away

 

“I’m not dead” She repeated. The world began to blur around her.

 

“Hey, hey, come back to me sis” Zack said as he pulled her into a hug “You’re alright, it’s over. You’re fine”

 

Numbly Ivy returned the hug. “You weren’t there” She croaked.

 

“It’s okay, I’m here now. Tell me what happened”

 

“You weren’t there. Carmen wasn’t there. I- I was f-falling-” she began to stutter as sobs escaped her

 

“I was so s-scared Zack. I could have died! What that road wasn’t there in Indonesia? What if you didn’t make it in time? What is Carmen didn’t make in time today? I-I-” She broke off as she tried to control her breathing.

Zack was whispering in her ear. He tried in vain to fight his own tears from streaking down his face.

 

“But we did make it Ivy. We’ll always make it” His voice wavered and broke as he spoke, but neither mentioned it. 

They opted to sit together in a comfortable silence, allowing time to pass as Ivy calmed down.

 

“Zack?” She asked . A half assed humm was the only reply she got. “C’mon big guy, let's get to sleep. Sorry for waking you up by the way”

 

“ ‘s no problem. ‘S what I’m here for” Slurred Zack as he curled up under the blankets “night Ives, sleep better”

 

Ivy shook her head with a smile at the familiarity of the routine. Sure it had been a while since something like this happened, but it was still nice to know some things never changed. She

turned around stealing some of the large blanket back from Zack. She closed her eyes and the last thing she heard was Zack’s even breathing and then she was out like a light once more.

This time, taking comfort in knowing her brother was there with her.

 

 

 


	3. Ivy and Carmen

   After a while of travelling together it became pretty apparent to Carmen that Ivy was a heavy sleeper. 

 

   Which is why when it was Ivy that woke her up from her nightmare Carmen knew it was bad. 

 

   She gasped awake, images from the nightmare seared into her brain. 

 

   “Woah, woah, easy Carm, you’re alright. Breathe Carm, you’re safe”  Ivy soothed as she awkwardly rubbed Carmen's back. So she didn’t know how to calm Carmen, sue her! It was normally Zack who did this. All she could ask for was that she didn’t make it worse. 

   “You were thrashing around a lot, so I figured you wouldn’t mind if I woke you up...” 

 

   “Good call” —  laughed breathlessly Carmen — “thanks”.

   The world finally seemed to settle around her and she felt her heart pounding in her chest. She saw Ivy kneeling next to her on the bed, 

 

   “Was it about V.I.L.E?” questioned Ivy, Carmen tensed as the thought back in the dreams. 

 

   She dreamt that she never left. That she became a fully fledged operative. She killed people who dared lay eyes on her during a job. She dreamt of feeling no remorse as she saw the blood staining her fingers. 

 

   It terrified her. 

 

   “Yeah...” She checked her hands, as if to make sure that it was in fact a dream. Her hands were clean, which lead to a wave of relief flooding her. A sigh escaped her.

 

   “Oh…” came Ivy’s uncertain response. “Was it bad there?” 

 

   That caught Carmen off guard. Cause it really hadn’t been. She was raised there, had fun there, felt loved. In some messed up way she missed it. Everything was so simple back then. There were no schemes, no capers, no having to constantly check your back. 

 

   “You’d think so…” — her eyebrows furrowed— “ but no. It was kind of great there… It’s so messed up. I should hate that place, but a small part of me misses it. It’s wrong” She flailed her hands in frustration. ‘ _ Why can’t anything be simple’  _ she thought to herself. 

 

   Ivy looked taken aback by the response before quickly recovering and claiming “No it’s not! You were raised there, of course you’re gonna miss it. You’re who you are because of it…. Tell me, what was it like?”

 

   “It was… beautiful... I lived in a small cabana on the beach for the most part. I never felt in danger, I was always meeting new people from all over the world. I got away with almost everything” — she smiled remembering all the pranks she played —  “You’d have never thought that it was so…  _ evil”  _

 

   Ivy snickered “Of course not. No kid is gonna think that they’re being raised in some advanced criminal organisation. Not even the great Carmen Sandiego! You’re too hard of yourself. I’m sure everyone agrees” 

 

   “I should have known -” began Carmen before getting interrupted by Ivy 

 

   “How?! That island was all you knew buddy, the fact you realised that it was bad even despite it being the only thing you knew is impressive in itself. Not to mention you’re pretty much single handedly ruining all their plans! Give yourself some credit!” — Carmen smiled sheepishly at Ivy as she continued — “Besides, if it wasn’t for you who knows where Zack and I would be by now.”

   Carmen joked “Probably in jail to be honest” 

   Ivy pulled her hand off of Carmens shoulder and placed it on her chest dramatically. “Rude!” she whined, before agreeing “but  fair enough... and probably true.” She paused for a moment. “You’re doing a lot of good Carmen, and sure not everyone might realise that right now, but sooner or later everyone’ll know your name for all the right reasons,” there was another moments pause before she joked, “Thank you for coming to my TED Talk” 

 

   Carmen took a deep breath and laughed. “Do you ever think about it?” 

 

   “About what?” 

 

   “What life would have been like if I did become a full on agent of V.I.L.E?” 

 

   Ivy hummed in consideration… “I guess I have…,” She brought her hand up and scratched the back of her head, “never seriously though… I don’t think I could have survive alone with Zack for such a long time,” she joked, ”Besides, this is the dream life,  new city every other day, I’m seeing more than most people will ever see in their whole lives! And I’m not even 20 yet. Plus,” her eyes sparkled “how many people can say they’ve helped save countries from secret evil corporations?” 

  
  


   Carmen rolled her eyes and shook her head good naturedly . “Not many I’m guessing?”. Ivy clicked and motioned finger guns in her direction. 

 

   “Your guess would be correct,” She grinned mischievously as she checked the time (it was 7:19) , “It’s practically morning already, and Zack’s not gonna be up for another couple of hours… ” She trailed off suggestively, and immediately Carmen knew where she was going. 

   “What prank were you thinking?” Allowing a sly smile to slip onto her own face as Ivy pumped her fist victoriously.  

   “Okay, hear me out... “ 

   After all, if there was one thing both girls loved, it was a good prank. Too bad for Zack he was the only person they could pull it on. 

 

_    “ This is gonna be good”  _ thought Carmen as Ivy launched into an eccentric and detailed explanation of their newest prank. And for a moment, all her worries melted away, allowing her to feel young, even if it was only for a while… 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
